Meredith Graham's Posts
Camera Toss: The Brave, The Reckless and The Chicken
Camera toss photograph by Ryan Gallagher, Singular Essentials-35
I admit it. I'm a bit of an adrenaline junkie. There was no mistaking that feeling as I let my camera fly out of my hands after depressing the shutter. It was, in short, a thrill. Some people are too chicken to try it. Instead of risking it all, I used my older Kodak LS743. I mean, I'm brave... but I'm not reckless.
My first set of tosses were inside, and not so interesting. I tried my backyard and got this self-portrait after only a few tosses. Perhaps it was luck, but it instantly got me hooked. I used the "fast exposure technique" and the timer setting to force the shutter to release while it was in the air. A clever wrist-twist on the throw and voila!I had a bit of a panic on my tenth toss, however. I did catch the camera, but found it unresponsive, with the lens still out. "I broke it already!" I wailed, handing it to my observing husband, "And I didn't even drop it!!"
He calmly adjusted it and said, "Looks like the battery popped out- it's fine." Lucky me.
We put up Christmas lights on our house and I realized they would be perfect for a "time exposure" toss technique. Setting my camera to a 2-second exposure, depressing the shutter with my toss hand, and covering the lens with my other hand, I let it fly, outdoors, underneath a moonlit sky. Quite thrilling, actually.
You can see our porch light (the thick white stripe) and our Christmas lights, and in the second picture you can see our neighbor's garage light as a dashed line (lights may appear dashed, depending on the frequency of the power source). The third picture is a shaken, not tossed version of the same scene.
The idea of camera toss came to the masses from Ryan Gallagher, who is known as clickykbd in the flickr community. He maintains a discussion group on flickr and also a blog with how-to tips and suggestions for tossing your camera. I noticed that there are over 2400 members of this group (the majority of them non-tossing lurkers) and about 10,000 photos tagged with 'camera toss' on flickr.
Recently, Adobe licensed camera toss images from several flickrites for the graphics on their new products. I think this gives an undeniable legitimacy to this creative activity. To see some gorgeous camera toss examples check out this and these.
The other night I noticed a poor sap pulled over on the street near mine. Inspiration struck- I grabbed my camera and tossed. The flashing police lights made an interesting subject for camera toss! I wonder what the cop was thinking of the girl in the adjacent yard, hurling her camera into the air. Maybe he didn't notice me. Or maybe he went home and googled throwing cameras.
So if you are brave, or creative, or both, try it out. Be warned, however, bad things can happen to cameras when flying through the air... or rather, when they hit the ground. As with any aerial sport, read the warning label! By the way, Kodak assumes no liability, none at all, (seriously!) for any damages to cameras caused by engaging in throwing your camera around like this. Kodak cameras aren't designed to take this sort of abuse. Toss at your own risk! However you choose to use your camera, have fun.
Comments
Posted By: Jeep Nerf Bar (10/5/2007)
Comment: Love the abstract shot...
Posted By: Jeep Nerf Bar (10/5/2007)
Comment: Nice abstract shot...
Posted By: Jonathan Vo (4/25/2007)
Comment: Wow this made it to the kodak website! Cool. Its up to you whether or not you want to throw your camera in the air. There not much risk if you are confident in catching it. Ive done this for a year, and the most damage ive done to my $500 Sony is - nothing. Ive even set up my own blog at lightXposed. Just google my name "Jonathan Vo" or "lightxposed" or simply click my name in this comment. Hope all those who try it will get the best of this sport.
Posted By: Colleen (1/7/2007)
Comment: Meredith, you always were thinking outside the box! Love your self portrait. I will try this for sure. I have this great KODAK DX7590 and want to use it as much as possible...
Posted By: Frank (12/13/2006)
Comment: I'm surprised the battery popped out. Could it be that you have a screw loose?
Posted By: Gordie (12/13/2006)
Comment: Bah, another pastime for sissies. Now a loaded gun, hammer back, safety off... Blindfolded?
Posted By: Meredith (12/12/2006)
Comment: Tom, I'm sure you're right, digital made this technique practical... and the web made it widely known. People do throw their film cameras, too! Rich, the string idea is good, but the 'camera toss' definition states nothing can be attached to the camera while the exposure is happening, although you could use the string to 'catch' the camera. I liked the 'use a bean bag to catch it' idea I saw online, too. Kendall, thanks for the comment!
Posted By: Kendall (12/12/2006)
Comment: Nuh-uh. Not going to happen. I'm not throwing or spinning my SLR. I'll enjoy the pretty pictures from those that do, but I don't believe it is worth the risk. My little digital camera might be worth a try, but I gave it to my wife a couple of weeks ago. She wouldn't appreciate me taking it back to throw it around. To each is own. For me, cameras are to be respected, protected and handled tenderly- like a newborn baby.
Posted By: Rich Hughson (12/12/2006)
Comment: Another thought, for those who'd rather not toss their expensive cameras, hang it from a cord and let it spin.
Posted By: Rich Hughson (12/12/2006)
Comment: Now that's cool. Speaking as a juggler I HAVE to give it a try..!
Posted By: tom (12/12/2006)
Comment: Gosh, thanks for sharing this. The resultant images really can by quite stunning! This sure shows a benefit of digital. It would have been near impossible to try this with film. "Did I get it right? We'll have to wait and see." Before I attempt "camera toss" I think I need to perfect the art of "camera catch" though. ;-)